Thursday, February 26, 2009

Daily Devotions

Each morning put on my clogs and I take the walk down the driveway out to the street to get the newspaper. Each morning I greet the day and it greets me - with rain, wind, winter darkness, summer sun and warmth, and this morning, snow. I feel the air temperature on my face, the sounds of neighbors going to work, the crunch of gravel underfoot, often birds flitting and chirping.
The arches of my cathedral are more Romanesque than Gothic, more loosely formed than stone. They provide a changing canopy overhead -bare branches, sometimes filigreed with snow, spring blossoms of pink, green shade in summer, gold overhead and beneath my feet in fall. Like cathedral arches, they draw my eye upward. Tree towers rise up into the sky.
Several weeks ago I posted a photo of the first branch bearing the opening blossoms of spring. After 60 degree temperatures last week, the blossoms have been emerging, somewhat tentatively, because they know it's only February, and anything can happen yet weather wise. They have been weighted down with snow before. And today it happened again.
I'm home this morning because school is starting two hours late. The Obamas, and apparently Chicagoans, would scoff, but it is still below freezing and we do have hills here. It has given me time to take my camera with me on my way to the paper box, and time to share it with you.
The newspaper is waiting, wrapped in plastic, snug and dry. Each day it is getting thinner and thinner. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer will cease to exist in a month or two. We'll probably switch to the less progressive Seattle Times, but it, too, may be doomed to Internet only before long.
I don't usually leave much footprint, but today was exceptional.
And look, soon the storm will pass and the sun will shine!
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Call this morning ritual my pagan nature worship, my praise to the god of all living things, my awakening to all the day holds, even my substitute for a cup of coffee, but when I can't, or don't do it, I miss it.
- When the newspaper is relegated to history, sitting at the computer reading the news on line will just not be a proper substitute for my daily devotions.

14 comments:

  1. What a terrific post, Linda. Wow! You've got such a long, beautiful driveway. I love the photo of the snow on the blossoms. It brings back memories.

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  2. I'm going to put a link on my blog to this post. My world looked like yours this morning but I didn't have a long driveway to walk.

    Like you, The Oregonian is shrinking and I hate it. I wonder how much longer it can hang on.

    I will greatly miss my morning paper with my coffee.

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  3. Love your photos and your words! It was beautiful this morning wasn't it? in spite of the cold and the snow. The snow on the flowers is exquisite!

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  4. Thank you for taking me along on your morning walk down your drive. Lovely.

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  5. I love this post! So well written and photographed. I am sharing it.

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  6. don't laugh! but that's how I feel about taking the garbage can down to the curb late at night - I linger in the quiet and see the stars

    your photos are lovely
    the snow on the red blooms makes for a stunning scene

    shame about newspapers

    and Amazon.com is trying to halk that Ipod type thing for books - I saw the head of Amazon on with Jon Stewart - I wanted to smack him ;)

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  7. lovely blooms, that happens here too when everything is in full bloom then it snows and freezes the fruit. hope your driveway isn't slippery.

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  8. That was breathtaking. Much thanks to Maya Photography for linking to your site today and introducing me to such gifted writing.

    I look forward to reading your future posts.

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  9. Nice photos Linda, and sentiment as well. I hear you!

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  10. Great post Linda..The snow causes problems, but all fresh and white, it is beautiful...Sad about all the newspapers going under..It happened here too and I don't like reading a paper on line. It isn't the same...

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  11. Glad that you enjoy nature Linda. Great that you now have spring beginning too. Enjoy! OK about the thinning newspaper. We haven't noticed it much here yet though our daily paper is always trying to win new subscribers. - Dave

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  12. Absolutely beautiful photos.

    Seattle without the P-I seems impossible to imagine. However, our St. Pete Times has been downsizing considerably over the past year, and it just isn't the formidable newspaper it used to be.

    I don't like reading the news on the internet. I prefer reading the paper with my morning coffee. It will be a bad day if all papers go under, but we seem headed in that direction.

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  13. This is one of your best posts EVER!! There's something everyone can relate too. I miss morning papers. Our teensy community has a three to five pager (with classifieds) that's only printed once a week. I watch the morning news while I'm getting ready for work...but, it's not the same as sitting in the sun, reading, while sipping some hot wassail and eating an english muffin slathered with apricot jam.

    I hope you continue to walk down your drive to soak up the beauty and serenity of your surroundings no matter what happens to your local newspaper.

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  14. Awesome post! Newspapers becoming a thing of the past...I find it kind of scary..what's next?
    I am a huge nature lover, so I totally understand the walk to get the paper, all the while marveling at the beauty of Mother Nature!!

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